It’s rare that your collectibles will bring in thousands of dollars, much less millions. However, there are some items that, due to their rarity and/or history, are valued at several millions of dollars. Some of the most interesting collectibles are coins.

While your run of the mill coins aren’t going to bring you a great deal of riches, there are some collector’s items that are worth more than their face value. One example is pennies that were minted prior to 1983. These pennies are mostly copper — instead of being mostly zinc like pennies minted in more recent years. However, even those pennies can’t compare with some of the most interesting and rare coins in history.

Wikipedia has a list of the 10 most expensive coins sold. These coins have an interesting history, and one of them even sold quite recently:

1794 Flowing Hair Dollar: The first dollar coin issued by the U.S. federal government was based on Spanish gold coins, which were widely circulated. States had their own mints, and other coins from different countries were also circulated. While the Flowing Hair Dollar didn’t completely replace other coinage, it did represent the first time the federal government became involved in creating money. The last buyer (a private sale) for this coin paid $7.85 million.

1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle: Unlike the Flowing Hair dollar, the Double Eagle was sold at auction and is the most expensive coin sold at auction, for $7.50 million. This is a $20 gold coin that never circulated officially. Many were actually melted down after the 1933 end to the gold standard in the U.S.

1787 Brasher Doubloon EB on Breast: George Washington’s goldsmith neighbor cast this coin, modeled after Spanish doubloons. Even though not officially circulated by the U.S. government, the Brasher doubloon is thought to be the first gold coin in America that was denominated in dollars. This coin recently sold for $7.4 million.

1804 Class I Silver Dollar: Interestingly, the coins bearing the 1804 date didn’t actually appear until 1834. The government began presenting them as gifts to foreign rulers. Some coins from Class I have been traced to the King of Siam, and legend has it that a Class I dollar was given to Anna Leonowens. In any case a Class I silver dollar sold for $4.14 million.

1913 Liberty Head Nickel: One five of these rare, limited issue nickels are known to be in existence — none of them in perfect condition. These coins are so prized that there is speculation that a perfect coin could be worth nearly $20 million. The most expensive of these sold for about $3.74 million.

1787 Brasher Doubloon EB on Wing: Unlike the Brasher with the stamp on the chest, most of the surviving doubloons cast by the goldsmith have the stamp on the wing. This means that the this type of coin is rarer. However, that didn’t stop one of the coins from selling for $2.415 million.

1804 Class III Silver Dollar: Most Class III 1804 silver dollars were actually made between 1858 and 1860. There are some design differences from the Class I versions. One of the Class III silver dollars sold for $2.3 million.

As you can see, the more unique the coin, the more it sells for. Additionally, there are coins that are valuable by virtue of casting mistakes and other quirks. Your “regular” coins aren’t likely to fetch a great deal, but with the right collection, you can still, with the right characteristics, find value.

Like this article? Get all the latest articles sent to your email for free every day. Enter your email address and click "Subscribe." Your email will only be used for this daily subscription and you can unsubscribe anytime.

6 Responses to “10 Rare Coins Worth Millions”

If you are at all interested in coins and numismatics, or have a jar full of coins and want to know there value i recommend ‘Strike it Rich‘

It tells you what you might find in your pocket change.

or if you have some older coins and want to know what a collector will pay for them, or maybe you collected all the state quarters and want to know how the investment paid off. Then you need the Official Blue book; this book will tell you what a dealer will pay you for the coin. some people will recommend the Red book but the red book is the price that you would pay to buy the coin (slightly higher)

Numismatics is contagious and very addicting, but these 2 books are cheap and have a lot of information for someone who just wants to learn more

I got a Millard Fillmore coin JFK halve $ a Romania bani dime Canadian quarter of Elizabeth d g Regina 2004 Aruba squared half $ a peso from 1998 and a konngin der nederlander coin interested in any of them

Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page.Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser.